Second round of talks between Bengal govt, junior docs on cards

PTI, Kolkata: The West Bengal government on Wednesday invited the junior doctors agitating over the RG Kar incident for a meeting at the state secretariat at 6.30 pm, responding to their request for a fresh round of talks. In his response, Chief Secretary Manoj Pant reiterated the state’s appeal to the protesting medics to join work in the wake of the emerging flood-like situation in parts of the state. The scheduled meeting would be the second round of talks between the stirring medics and the state government in 48 hours, the first of which was held in the presence of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday.

“You are aware that many districts of South Bengal are facing a flood-like situation with vast areas inundated. “In the light of the above situation, while we again appeal to you to join duties in larger public interest and provide services to common people, I along with the other members of the task force will meet your delegation of 30 members at Nabanna Sabhaghar today at 6.30 pm,” Pant’s email, sent at 2.49 pm, stated. Earlier, the junior doctors wrote to the chief secretary, seeking a discussion on certain “key unresolved issues” like security in hospitals as a pre-condition for lifting their ongoing sit-in outside the state health department headquarters.

The medics shot off an email at 11.19 am as follow up to decisions taken in their general body meeting, which concluded early Wednesday morning. The protesters highlighted issues of safety and security inside state-run hospital premises, and details of formulation and functions of the promised task force headed by the chief secretary, as agenda for the proposed meeting. “In reference to our last meeting with the CM, we would like to reiterate that there were certain key points regarding our fivepoint demand, which were unresolved. Particularly our 4th and 5th points, concerning the development of the healthcare system, safety, security and prevailing threat culture,” they stated in the email.

The minutes of the meeting held between the medics and the government in the presence of Mamata Banerjee at her Kalighat residence on Monday night confirmed the mutual agreement of setting up of a task force to implement measures to tackle the safety and security concerns of doctors, which included “persistence of threat culture” on tudents and trainees from certain quarters in the power corridors of state-run hospitals.